I hear the news everyday telling us that if you want to make a lot of money, you just have to get lucky. If you want to make what is considered to be the culturally acceptable amount of money, (you know that amount just over the poverty line, far enough away to be able to lie to yourself that you live in the “middle class”), then go to a four year college and “follow your dreams”.
Well I am truly sorry that I have to tell you that the middle class is dead, and the following your dreams thing can only work when the other end of that dream is a viable career that will make you a lot of money.
You can do what a lot of us have done and learn a skilled trade. A skilled trade is always in demand in some form or another. Pick HVAC (heating and air conditioning) for just one example. No matter what time of the year it is, you can stay busy in this field. When it’s hot outside, you do the AC repairs, and when it’s cold, well you guessed it… you do the heating repairs. Now, in between the cold fronts and warm fronts and the occasional flood that can cause damage, a service company should have hundreds of their clients retained with service contracts. This means at least twice a year (it could be four), your service technicians (after the office has called the client and scheduled the appointments) shows up to the place of residence or business, and begins his or her job to inspect and clean the equipment that is covered under this service contract. The detail you give the units at this time is important, and I suggest you perform the same systematic process to check for efficiency and safety, and finish up with a thorough cleaning.
This is one of the ways in the HVAC world to make money all year. Imagine all of the parts you can find bad during this process and how many clients you can help before they even know they had a problem.
This system can be set up with many other service companies and you can make it just as successful.
Learning a skilled trade keeps you from being unemployed or underemployed, and gives you the freedom to meet a lot of new people and see a lot of the off-the-beaten-path places you may have never seen.
It’s a great feeling I get when I drive past a business full of clients; and I know that I was responsible for getting the AC, lights, or the plumbing working. I know that I have made a lot of people very happy, but I also am contributing to the economy by keeping the clients in the store.
My friends, we can all fill an important role in life if we simply teach hard work again to our kids in school. In business, they do not give you a trophy for losing, they give you a phrase, “Out of Business”.
Learning a skilled trade is one of the fastest ways to economic security for which anyone can ask. Go for it, go get dirty!
Service Technician, Builder,Business Owner,
Duane Cotton
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